A compilation of the history of menhaden management and a review of the options currently on the table to rebuild the primary forage base of the Atlantic Coast.

The Atlantic Menhaden Management Board is finally exploring management options that could halt the decline and hopefully launch the stock on a positive trajectory. Menhaden are a critical component of the Atlantic ecosystem. In the simplest terms, the primary ecological attribute for menhaden is their sheer abundance. Nearly every estuarine and marine predatory fish, mammal and bird eats them at some point in their life cycle. Menhaden are a lower trophic order species, which means they "graze" on the small organisms in the water that convert the sun’s energy into cellulose. Menhaden are the key ingredient in the ecosystem that literally convert the sun’s energy to protein.

The current menhaden management system has allowed this critical species to decline to the lowest abundance ever recorded.